Philadelphia Park Scores $25,000 Makeover Prize from Staples and the Philadelphia Eagles

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS), the world's largest office products company, and Philadelphia Eagles player Brian Dawkins today announced that Cohocksink Recreation Center in Philadelphia is the grand-prize winner of the Staples Dream Park Challenge, a Philadelphia-area park improvement initiative. Dawkins, Eagles owner Christina Lurie, and Staples presented a check for $25,000 to Cohocksink representatives at a ceremony today at Lincoln Financial Field. Park officials say the funds will be used for much-needed renovations including a major upgrade to the athletic field, among other improvements. In total, Staples and the Eagles awarded $46,000 to 15 Philadelphia-area parks through the program.

“Staples and the Eagles are pleased to present Cohocksink Recreation Center with the $25,000 Staples Dream Park Challenge grand prize,” said Dawkins. “In rallying an entire community to vote for their park, Cohocksink Recreation Center showed us a real determination to win.”

From Sept. 23 to Nov. 17, Philadelphia-area residents were invited to vote online at www.StaplesDreamPark.com for one of 15 local parks to receive $25,000 in improvement money. Cohocksink finished first in the contest with approximately 66,962 out of the 220,693 total votes cast. Second-place Capitolo Playground in Philadelphia will receive $10,000 and third-place Mill Road Park in Berwyn, Pa. will get $5,000 for park improvements. The remaining 12 parks will each receive $500.

“Cohocksink Recreation Center is a much-beloved local park that has been in great need of improvements for some time,” said Susan Slawson, Philadelphia recreation commissioner. “This $25,000 from Staples and the Eagles is a great win for the community and will help make Cohocksink Recreation Center a safer, more enjoyable place for our kids to play and learn.”

Cohocksink park officials and neighboring residents went to great lengths to help propel Cohocksink Recreation Center to first-place, including implementing a concerted communications effort throughout the community. As a result, Cohocksink established a lead early in the voting and finished with nearly 23,000 more votes than the first runner-up park.

“Staples believes in giving back to the communities where our associates and customers live and work,” said Mike Naab, regional vice president of Staples. "Through the Staples Dream Park Challenge, we’re proudly supporting our local parks, which are the gathering places for families and youth in our communities.”

For more on Staples Dream Park Challenge and a complete list of participating parks, visit www.StaplesDreamPark.com/Eagles.

About Staples

Staples, the world’s largest office products company, is committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products, including supplies, technology, furniture, and business services. With $27 billion in sales, Staples serves businesses of all sizes and consumers in 27 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. In July 2008, Staples acquired Corporate Express, one of the world’s leading suppliers of office products to businesses and institutions. Staples invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and is headquartered outside Boston. More information about Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) is available at www.staples.com.